The Bluefeet are Coming by René Goscinny

Why read the book?

One of the first Morris and Goscinny collaborations, this album turns the cavalry western on its head. A nervous fort is convinced the Bluefeet are about to attack, and rumour, drink and a foolish officer keep stoking the fear until war seems certain.

Lucky Luke, with Jolly Jumper, rides between the two camps trying to calm everyone down. The joke is that nobody actually wants the war, and the trouble is made entirely by panic and misunderstanding. Luke spends the book defusing a crisis that exists mostly in frightened heads.

Favourite quote

What I Loved

Goscinny's gift for gentle satire is already on show. The army is mocked for its pomp and its incompetence, and the supposed savages turn out to be the most reasonable people around.

The pacing is brisk, the gags land, and the parody of frontier hysteria still reads sharply. It is a fine early example of the team's warm, knowing humour.

Key Takeaway

A clever send-up of war fever in which fear, not the enemy, is the real danger.

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